Community leaders in Little London, in inner-city Leeds, have give a strong welcome to injunctions banning 12 drug users from the area.

The 12 – eight men and four women – had been causing
considerable alarm in the community as a result of their open drug use in public areas.

This included injecting drugs outside Little London Primary School and the area's Children's Centre.

The 12 were shown in court to have a history of drug abuse and visiting Little London from outside the area. They have been identified there several times by police community support officers (PCSOs), police officers and residents.

Witness statements told how they contributed to an increase in used drug paraphernalia found in the area, the easy availability of drugs, especially near the school, and an increasing air of intimidation from the activities of dealers and users.

The headteacher at Little London Primary, Jill Wood, said: "It's absolutely fantastic that these people will now be prevented from coming into Little London. We will all be more confident about walking the streets, day or night, and parents will feel a lot happier about picking up their children from school without fear of intimidation.

"Little London is a strong community, and these injunctions show what we can achieve when we stand together."

Insp Fran Naughton, of the North West Inner Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "Drug dealing and drug-related crime and anti-social behaviour are the main issues affecting people's quality of life in Little London, which is why tackling these issues have been, and continue to be, our top priority.

"We have had a number of recent successes arresting suspected dealers, in many cases as a direct result of information provided by the local community, but there is never any room for complacency and we urge people to keep that information coming.

"The granting of the injunctions against these problem drug users should help to improve the situation even further. For too long their drug-fuelled behaviour has impacted on the lives of local people and now we have orders in place to keep them out of the area.

"We will continue working in partnership with the local authority and other agencies to target the minority whose actions have a negative effect on the community."

The injunctions, granted by Leeds County Court, were ob-tained under general powers to prohibit public nuisance for the benefit of inhabitants of Leeds. If any of the 12 breach them they risk arrest and imprisonment.

The police, council and partner agencies are targeting both users and dealers in their two-pronged approach to drug dealing and drug-related crime and anti-social behaviour in the Little London and Woodhouse areas.

Recent successes have seen a youth aged 16 from Farnley, Leeds, charged with possessing cocaine with intent to supply after being arrested in Little London.

Officers uncovered a 300-plant cannabis factory in a house in Oatland Place, Little London, a week ago as a result of information from the local community.

The 12 are: Glynn Roxbrough, 38; Victoria Heath, 22; Carl Stubley, 31; Jamie Midgley, 27; Kevin Muldoon, 40; Claire Hepworth, 34; Michelle Wainwright, 35; Eric Mclaughlin. 30; Phil Boden, 39; Jamie Ross, 26; Shirley Wilson, 27; and Kevin Widowfield, 31.